Cyclones are centrifugal separators which for example are provided downstream of fluidized-bed reactors for the treatment of solids, such as ores, in order to separate the solids from a waste gas stream. The waste gases of such reactors partly have temperatures of more than 1000° C. Beside the abrasive stress caused by the solids entrained in the waste gas stream, cyclones and the components thereof also are exposed to high thermal stresses.
The vortex finder is a tube, for example of a high-temperature-resistant steel, which generally extends centrally from above into the inlet cylinder (inlet region) of the cyclone and through which the waste gas liberated from the solids is introduced from the conical zone of the cyclone located below the inlet cylinder into the waste gas conduit. In cyclones which are provided downstream of fluidized-bed reactors for the treatment of solids the vortex finder can have a length of several meters and a weight of several hundred kilos. Since in addition to the weight load a high dynamic load acts on the vortex finder also due to the exhaust gas stream, high demands must be placed on the immmersion tube support, i.e. on the fixture of the vortex finder.
For this purpose, it is known so far to mount holders on the sheet-metal casing of the cyclone, to protect the same with the refractory inner lining of the cyclone, and then to suspend the vortex finder from these holders. Due to the high stresses, a failure of the vortex finder support can occur during prolonged operation, so that the same must be replaced, if necessary. In the known vortex finder supports, it therefore is required that each holder must be mortised out of the refractory concrete of the cyclone lining and be replaced by new holders. This involves a considerable effort, for example because a scaffold must be erected in the cyclone, in order to be able to work at the roof of the cyclone.